Recorder Concertos from Sanssouci

Ensemble Piccante, led by soloist Isaac Makhdoomi, features three concertos and a vocal aria (played by recorder) from the circle of Frederick the Great. The composers represented include Quantz, Benda, C.P.E. Bach, and Carl Heinrich Graun, no surprises!

The recording was made in St. German’s Church in Seewen, Switzerland. I’d go so far to say that the acoustics are bit big for this music, but the recording manages to get close enough to all the musicians to not lose everything in the wash of reverb. The famous painting of Frederick himself playing the flute is featured in the liner notes; while the room depicted has a high ceiling, it’s filled with people, and the acoustics obviously would not have been quite as “live.”

The liner notes also include an essay, The Recorder in Sanssouci, speaking of course about the palace Frederick made music in during the warmer months of the year. I admittedly have not yet visited, but the answer I was looking for in the essay wasn’t about Frederick’s patronage of the arts but rather why the recorder is the appropriate instrument for this music. After all, Quantz nor Frederick were known as recorder players, but rather as players of the transverse flute. While music written for one can be played on the other, when the range works, it’s an interesting concept to record works clearly intended for one instrument played upon another.

Of course, in this case, Isaac Makhdoomi is a recorder specialist, having already recorded works by Quantz, Vivaldi, and Dreyer.

All three concertos on this disc follow a Vivaldian fast-slow-fast format, and it may be right to call it Vivaldian, although the more appropriate term may be Venetian. This is because both Quantz and J. S. Bach were familiar with Vivaldi’s concertos.

The concerto on disc by C.P.E. Bach, H. 425, was also on the disc I just reviewed featuring the Georgian Chamber Orchestra at Ingolstadt. The flavor on this recording with Ensemble Piccante takes on a far less Stürm und Drang feeling in the first movement. The ensemble is far less furious in its playing; the solo part is also less brilliant in terms of the instrumental timbre. On record, Makhdoomi sounds great, with the care he takes with altering his articulation, however the recorder isn’t the best match for this concerto ultimately, for how soft his instrument is in its lower register. The engineers in this case balanced things well enough to make the recorder stand out in front. This concerto in its third movement does embrace the storm. Both soloist and the orchestra are on top form throughout.

The proportions for the Quantz A major concerto aren’t quite as big as with the Bach. The chosen tempo for the first movement is brisk, but it’s expertly handled by the orchestra. The concerto’s solo is better suited for the range of the recorder in this case than in the Bach concerto. The middle movement starts with upper strings alone, and again, the sound of Ensemble Piccante is nicely presented. Makhdoomi’s sweetens his instrument’s sound with some vibrato during the solo; it’s done for expressive purposes, alternating with playing the notes “straight.” I like his control and approach in how he tackles this solo.

The third movement, too, is presented briskly. The separation of the first and second violins on opposite sides of the stereo spectrum is a nice touch. The solo presents again the sunny character from the first movement.

Orpheus’ story was woven into numerous operas. The final track of this CD present’s an aria from Carl Heinrich Graun’s Orfeo with the recorder replacing the singer. The piece acts, for me, as a type of concert encore. The range of the recorder stays for the most part above the break, giving the instrument plenty of presence.

Franz Benda’s fame as a musician comes from his talents upon the violin. This concerto in E minor, transposed to D for accommodating the recorder, takes on the Stürm und Drang from the start. The soprano recorder has no problem staying above the foundation of the orchestra. I couldn’t help but compare this to Vivaldi’s concertos featuring the recorder (or piccolo) and the style here is more idiomatic for a flute (or in this case, a recorder). How widely the character changes in the middle movement! Here we are treated to a far more “sensitive style.” The timbre of a high recorder in the middle movement for me didn’t quite sit right; the tone is strident against the muted strings. The dynamic energy of the third movement is perfectly executed by the orchestra. Makhdoomi’s tone is very centered and direct, his playing over all, especially as he nails the high notes, makes you smile.

This is my first real exposure to Makhdoomi and this album reveals his strong technical control as a recorder soloist, not to mention his sensitivity as a director. I wasn’t surprised to learn that he studied with Maurice Steger, one of the ultimate superstars of the recorder. He’s got a similar sound and while he doesn’t push things to extremes as Steger can do in this album, his technical abilities are right up there with his teacher.

The music presented here provides a nice program, probing the musical styles that came together during the reign of Frederick II. As noted in the liner notes, he had at his disposal the ability to attract the top musicians into his circle. The quality of the concertos matches for me the stylish and dynamic performances by Piccante.

That said, making the case for these concertos performed on the recorder over the transverse flute isn’t convincingly made for me. Even so, I don’t blame these musicians for taking on these works using the recorder, as it’s the soloist’s specialty instrument. And while I think I made the case for the recorder staying above the texture of the orchestra in the one concerto, the engineers here helped make it work without compromises.

This introduction to Makhdoori will force me to explore his earlier recordings for sure.